EDIT : Professional building instruction available here : You can email me at setechnic@gmail.com /EDIT Hi fellows, Here is my latest MOC : a UCS Republic Cruiser. UCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr UCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr UCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr The Brickshelf gallery with more photos : http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=491912 Note that I have been compelled to paint some parts. Not because I was lazy to order them, but because they have never been produced in the color I need (dark red). I will switch these parts as soon as possible.. My work began in mid October. Actually, I did not plan to do a new MOC in 2011. But well, I just wanted to start a little bit that project, just to see what I could do. And it turns out that I progressed very quickly on that MOC ! Indeed, I had a very good understanding of what I had to achieve, both regarding the structure (the most interesting part IMO), the look/finition/details and the size (the final model is 58 cm long). I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to achieve a real structure from the cockpit to the engine for the model to be very well designed and strong. You can see some kind of SNIR to achieve the angles on the sides. You can also notice some vertical technic beams to "lock/strenght" the structure. Indeed, a weak structure would actually not be a structure. O_o Then, given that the tricky parts were designed, I decided to work on LDD. Everything went well, and that was very cool. UCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr UCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr The engine are a bit heavy, and so not totally horizontal. But it's fine. They are only half a millimeter bent because of the weight. That is the price to pay to get a very sleek (and simple) construction that do not damage the look of the ship. Indeed, I absolutely wanted to keep the cylinders in 8 stud wide, with dishes on top. So, I mainly use a 8L axle with stop. The engines can not spin. The build is very modular. Another very interesting aspect of the build is that the front is built in an odd width whereas the back is designed with an even width. It is the first time that I work on such thing. Well I confess that it is also why I choose the Republic Cruiser. This "problem" regarding the width was very exciting from a design perspective. ^^ I did my best to reproduce the radar and other sensors at the back. UCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr UCS Republic Cruiser by Anio, sur Flickr My greebs are dark bluish gray whereas they are red on the real ship. Will, I think that red greebs would not look very good on a Lego model. Beside, they would have made the model totally dark red (in the hypothesis that enough parts have been made in dark red to achieve greebs). And it is IMO important to have some variations in the colors on a Lego model. So, I did them in DBG. I am very pleased with the final model. I think it is very accurate regarding the shapes, proportions and colors. :) Et voilà ! I hope you like it as much as I do. =) Instructions soon.